Kari Matuszewski

My life has revolved around art for as long as I can remember.  It struck a chord with me, made me “feel” something.  I have always been drawn to the eccentric and colorful.  To me, Art is what makes life interesting.

In high school, I would tell my parents I was going to a friend’s house, but really I was sneaking on the train to New York(I grew up in NJ and NYC was about a 45 minute train ride) and exploring all the creative goodness that the city has to offer.  I discovered Frida Kahlo, Keith Haring,  Pierre-August Cot (Springtime Lovers on Swing is hands down one of my favorite paintings), Jackson Pollak, and Georgia O’Keefe, to name just a few.  The freedom I felt, walking those NYC streets, observing the grittiness of it, the graffiti, the unique cultures, even the yellow cabs, made it clear to me that New York is where I needed to be and that Art was what I needed to be making.

I was accepted into the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York in the Fall of 2003.  Accessories Design and Leather Fabrication is what I earned my BFA in.  I can’t begin to explain how much I learned and grew from that experience.   After graduation, I worked in the fashion industry for about 8 years before I made the very hard decision to move to Illinois to be closer to my family.

Now, I spend my days being a mom, working at a non-profit, and making Art.  This wonderful community of Artists has really made making Art and being creative something exciting again for me.